Protesters oppose golf course acquisition

Scene of the protest on Route 724 against Phoenixville Area School District’s decision to acquire Meadow Brook Golf Club through eminent domain for school construction purposes in early November. Photo by Frank Otto.

PHOENIXVILLE — Carrying signs, Gadsden flags and a bullhorn, opponents of the Phoenixville Area School District’s eminent domain acquisition of Meadow Brook Golf Club protested at the intersection of Route 724 and Kimberton Road Saturday afternoon.

“What they’re doing is just theft,” said Steve Piotrowski, one of the head organizers of a group called Citizens for Liberty, which organized the protest. “The family just stopped by, they were in tears, thanking us. They said it’s theft. They’re not willing to sell (the golf club) for the price they want.”

According to the school district, Meadow Brook has asked for $8 million for the property, which is more than twice the assessment value, while the school district, in its last negotiations, offered $5 million.

“They are not willing to sell it. It’s just theft,” Piotrowski said. “Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it’s right.”

“Just because it’s legal that doesn’t make it moral,” said Darren Wolfe at the protest.

He said a regular transaction should be a negotiation and that the tax assessments the district was basing its offers on were traditionally “low-ball” numbers.

The group also planned to protest out side of homes of at least some of the seven school board members who voted in favor of the eminent domain decision. In those neighborhoods, they also hoped to hand out flyers containing the phone numbers and official email addresses of those board members.

“We’re out here to support (Meadow Brook) and gain awareness in the community,” Piotrowski said. “We also want to go to the school board and say, ‘No, you’re not going to take our property,’”

Babb said he was concerned that the school district could take properties through eminent domain and sell off the pieces not used in the construction for development as a “new way of generating revenue.”

According to Section 1, Title 26 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, an entity that acquires a property through eminent domain can only sell it off for purposes other than the original intended use after offering the parcels back to the original owner.

The concept of paying the owners of Meadow Brook Golf Club “fair market value” for the land is also something Babb and other took umbrage with.